Dish cleaning sink



Feb.l6, 1954 M. z. THORSON DISH CLEANING smx Filed Oct. 17, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Feb. 16, 1954 M. 2. THORSON DISH CLEANING SINK 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1945 Feb. 16, 1954 M. 2. .THORSON DISH CLEANING SINK 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 17, 1945 INVENTOR. m1. 7

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M. Z. THORSON DISH CLEANING SINK 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. m 2 7' BY Feb. 16, 1954 Filed Oct. 17, 1945 Feb. 16, 1954 z, THORSON 2,669,240

I DISH CLEANING SINK Filed Oct. 17, 1945 e Sheets-Sheet s IJNVENTOR.

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Feb. 16, 1954 z. THORSQIN 2,669,240

DISH CLEANING SINK v Filed Oct. 17, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

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Patented Feb. 16, 1954 UNITE D STATEfi DISHEv CLEANING SINK Milton ,Z'. Thorson, Knight Township, Vanderburgh County, Ind;

Application October 17, 1945, SerialNo. 622,793

3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to cleaning; dishes.

Although a large number of. household type dishwashers have been proposed, public acceptance of dishwashing machines has been withheld except in large restaurants and dining places. One reason for this is that. in the usual home the quantity of tableware is not sufiiciently large for a dishwashing machine to materially reduce, handling; of the dishes. Housewives point out that if dishes have to be, scraped and then each placed just so in a-washing machine, the, time and labor is no-lessthan thatinvolvedby hand washing. Another.- objectionis that household type. washing machines do notefiectthorough washing of the variously shaped dishes and utensils ordinar-i-ly encountered in the: home. Another objection is that: household type dishwashers do. so smalla part of the. total job automatically that the cost not worth-while.- I'hus, even though permitting use of hotter water and reducing socalled dishpa/n hands, household dishwashers. have encountered such sales resistance asto. have kept them from coming into general use.

I have inventeda household kitchensink having. theusual utility of a; sink butwhich, has the further utilityof being more easily. cleaned, and which has-the still further utility of automatically cleaning dishesandother tableware without a-separate preliminary treatmentsuch as. scraping or: rinsing. directlyto this sink which, after automatic oper-v ation, is itself clean and presents. the articles thoroughly clean and dry. Lhave thus, provided a; new kitchen devicewhich is functionally and economically acceptable in the home.

My: invention resides in a, new, setof operations carried out by an. apparatus having a new relationsh-ipof parts. When using thesink for automatic cleaning, soiled dishes and, tableware are brought directly tothe sink. Solids and the bulk of the waste material@ are disintegrated and disposed of to waste. Then-the articles are engulfed inasn-iit stream-ofihot water containing soapor other suitable detergent. Next, the articles. are subjected to a. hot water. rinse and then.a...current of air which. preventsv accumulation of water vapor and. thusefiects immediate drying.

The invention istdescribed. moredetail in connection with the. accompanying drawinss of which:

Fig; 1. is front view with parts: verticatsectie -and showing someot the; water supply conneetions;

2 isa similar toii-igz-v L with water. pipe Dishes-and tableware are brou ht Fig. 3 is apartialvertical section taken on line 31-3; in Fig. 4;

Fig; g. is a plan view of the automatic sink shown; in, the preceding figures;

Fig; 5 is; a detail section of one of the several p y noz Fig. 6 is a detail section of a part of the sink lid takenon line 6.6 of Fig. 3; v

Fig. '7 is ahorizontal section of. the. disintegrator n l ne -1 n F 2;

Fig. 8' is a detail section on line 8--8 in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 a detail section of a float operated switch which does not appear in previous views;

Fig. 10 is a wiring diagram of the control cirunit for the automatic sink;

11 is a plan view of a rack for use in the automatic sink;-

Fig. 12 is an elevation of the rack shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a. left-end view-of the rack;

Fig. 14. is a right-endview of the rack;

Fig. 15 is a detail. perspective of the center rail of the rack; and

Fig-.16 is'a detail View of a center holder for use in the rack.

I. have embodied my. invention in a general utility kitchen sink. Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, a cabinet I0 is provided with a base ll of a type providing enclosure to the floor level but affording toe space. at the front of the cabinet. A tank in the form of an open top sink I2 is locatedin the upper part of the cabinet It, the rim of the sink forming the top of the cabinet.

In the bottom center of the sink it there is a largeqdiameter drain opening 13. A closure member or stopper M for the drain opening it is mounted on a lever 15. A rod it connects the level 15 to the operating arm H of a three-position motor t8. In one position of the motor E8, the drain valve M is fully open. In a second position of the motor It, the drain valve is partly closed. In the third position of the motor :8, the drain valve I4, is fully closed. I- prefer to connect the drain, valve, 1.4 to the lever by arncmber t9 which has resiliency so that should the drain valve attenmtv to close upon a solid object, the valve and its operating parts will not be strained nor damaged.

The drain valve 14 is located in the upper portion of; a housing 20 the lower narrowed part of which there is provided a, distintegrator or macerator (see Fig. 2). The disintegrator comprises a spindle 2| provided with projecting teeth 22 arranged in circular. rows. The teeth 22 on the spindle are interdigitated with circular rows of teeth: 23 on the interio o th rowed art shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3.

of the housing 20. The spindle 2| is mounted on the upper end of a shaft 24 journaled in and projecting through the bottom of the disintegrator housing 20. A pulley 25 is mounted on the end of the shaft 24 outside of the housing and the pulley is connected by a belt 26 to an electric motor 2?. A pipe 28 is connected to the disintegrator housing 23 below the spindle 2|. The leading edges of the macerator teeth 22 are beveled downward and rearward so that when the spindle 21 is rotated by the motor 21, matter is continually urged downward.

A small blower 29 is connected to discharge air through an opening 33 in the upper part of the disintegrator housing 2b. The blower 29 is connected by a belt 3| to the electric motor 27.

The disintegrator and the blower are operated when the electric motor 2'! is energized. As it will hereinafter appear, the motor 2? is only operated when the drain valve is is open. In its full open position the valve I l obstructs the opening 32 through which it is connected to its operator l8, and the air discharged by the blower 23 into the casing 26 causes an upward breeze through the large drain opening l3 into the sink [2.

At the top of the cabinet iii and at the rear of the sink l2 there is a panel or upright ledge 33. A recess or niche 3 1 is provided in the panel 33 and in this niche there are located a horizontally pivoted spout 35, and hot and cold water valve handles 35 and 31. The spout 35 can be swung out of the recess 3% and over the sink i2 when the latter is used for general utility purposes as Valves (not shown) operated by handles 36 and 3? control flow of hot and cold water from the spout 35 in known manner.

In the top of the cabinet It in front of the panel 33 there is a slot 38 through which a sink cover 39 may be drawn upward and lowered to close the top of the sink, or lowered downward into the cabinet when not needed.

" 42 is like that illustrated in vertical section in Fig. 5. Referring to Fig. 5, a distributing head :23 is normally located in an upwardly conical opening 44 and flush with the wall of the sink 12.

Below each opening i i the sink wall I2 has formed thereon a boss 35 which is drilled. and

threaded to receive a fitting 46. The latter has a shoulder d'l' which acts as a seat for the spray head 43. A spider 88 and a leaf spring 49 are mounted on a stem 52B of the spray head 43. The leaf spring 49 engages behind the shoulder ll and normally holds the spray head 43 seated in the opening M. A water pipe 5| is connected to the fitting When water is admitted to pipe 5|, as hereinafter described, the pressure of the water raises the spray head 53 from its seat against the action of the spring d3. Thereupon the water issues through the opening 44 and is projected into the sink in the form of a spray around the head 43. When water is cut off from pipe 5 i the spring 49 returns the spray head 43 to its closed position.

The spray nozzles 42in the bottom of the sink are connected by suitable piping to a supply pipe 52 which is connected to a hot water line 53. A

magnetically operated valve 54 controls flow of water from the line 53 to the supply pipe 52 and thus to the bottom spray nozzles 42.

In the sides of the sink I2, that is, the front and back walls, there are four groups each of four spray nozzles 55 which are like the previously described sprays 52. The sprays 55 are suitably manifolded and connected by suitable piping (not shown) to a supply pipe 55 which is connected to the hot water line 53. A magnetically operated valve 57 controls the flow of water from the line 53 to the supply pipe 56, as hereinafter described.

In each end wall of the sink i2 there are four sprays 53 which are like the previously described sprays 22. The sprays 58 are manifolded and connected by suitable piping (not shown) to a supply pipe 59 which is connected to the hot water line 53. A magnetically operated valve 60 controls flow of water from the line 53 to the supply pipe 53 as hereinafter described.

The magnetically operated valves 5 54, 31, and 50 are normally closed and adapted to open when energized.

Slots BI and 32 are provided at the ends of the sink 82 adjacent the bottom. These slots are connected by conduits 63 and 64 to a housing 65. The conduits G3 and 6d are formed with upward Ubends E53 and 6?. A supply pipe 88 is connected from the housing 65 to the hot water line 53. A magnetically operated valve 69 controls the flow of water from the line 53 to the supply pipe 68 as hereinafter described. The valve 69 is normally closed and adapted to open when energized.

A slot iii is provided in the upper part of the rear wall of the sink l2. As seen in Figs. 1 and 8, the slot H3 is connected by fitting H and a pipe 12 to the inlet of a water pump 13. The latter is driven, together with the blower 29, by the electric motor 21 through the belt 3!. The discharge side of the pump 13 is connected by a pipe M to the casing 65.

In Fig. 9 there is illustrated a device connected to the pump inlet pipe 12. This connection is indicated in Fig. 3 but not shown in the other drawings for the sake of clarity. Referring to Fig. 9, a vertical pipe is connected by means of an elbow and a T to the pump inlet pipe 52. The upper end of the vertical pipe 15 is located at a level above the slot Hi in the rear wall of the sink l2. A bushing 13 is threaded in the upper end of the pipe 15 and acts as a guide for a rod H which projects downward through the bushing It into the pipe 15. A float I8 is attached to the lower end of the rod 17. The upper end of rod ll is provided With a head 79 by which the rod Ti and float 18 are normally suspended in the pipe 15. A fitting 80 secured at the upper end of the pipe 15 provides a pivot for a teeter member 8|. One end of the teeter 8| overlies the float rod head 19 and is normally held downward by a weight 82. A mercury type switch 83 is mounted on the other end of the teeter Bl. The switch 83 is normally closed. Whenever water rises in pipe 15 to a level sufficient to raise the float T8, the teeter 8! is so tipped that the mercury switch 83 opens for a purpose hereinafter described.

Referring to Fig. 2, the rear panel 33 has on the right-hand side a control knob 84 turnable to any of five positions. The knob 84 operates an electric switch 85 illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 10. On the left-hand side of the panel 33 there are two push button switches 86 and 81 which are also shown diagrammatically in the I wiring diagram of Fig. 10. Although not shown in the other views, a switch 88, shown diagramlocal/8d. the sink I2 directly over the opening 92.

tacle 89' is located in the sink 1 2,. the opening 92 is generally in the vicinity of the sink drain aecegsao matically in Fig: 1e; should lie-so arrangedras to be closed only when the-lid 39 isclosed;

In -Fig; 11 there is shown a plan view of a wire basket orreceptacle 8! adapted to be removably tacle- 89' is shaped so as to: conform generally to the interior outlineof the sink- L2. At: each end of the receptacle 89 there isa handle. 913.

-When the receptacle 88 is placed in the sink it,

each handle 9t rests a ledge 91 formed at the top of each end ofthe sink 12. The receptacle il is tor-med bya plurality-oiwire rods. Adjacent thecenterof the receptacle 891 there is a circular opening 92- in the bottom. A circular ledge 93 is located at some" distance above but When the recepopening I3. The ledge $23 is covered with rubber or some other soft and resilient material so that crockery may he jarred against this ledge without breaking.

The receptacle 89 has four principal sections. Dne sectionis-inthelett-hand end where a. plurality of transverse rods 91 are: similarly fes-- creasing width from'top to bottom. This; area accommodates cups and other dishes of miscellaneous shapes and: sizes and permits insertion without: search: for placement,. because each descending article automatically finds a level: at

which it is restricted between the bars; 9% andthe front wallof'the'receptacle. The remaining area is for larger dishes such as service dishes and other tableware. oi miscellaneous nature.

As shown in Fig;q16; a foraminous cylindrical container Q8 fits within the, striking. ledge 93 over the opening 92, andis provided with n. ring 2.59 which rests upon" the ledge93- to. supportthe receptacle 98. Thisrreceptacle is for silverware and the .like.

Referring back to the wiring diagram inEi-gl;.thefour water'controlivalves 54,. :7, til. and

ts are indicatedl The'valveitcontrols the bottom sprays E2. The valve 51 controls. the'side sprays 55.. The valve 60 controls the end sprays 58. The valve 69 controls the flush openings ill and. $2. The previously described motor 2'! is shown diagrammatically. When. the motor 27 is operating, the disintegrator, water pump, and blower are operated. The three-position motor lflrwith its operating arm I? is shown. When the arm I? is inthe fullline position, the sinhdrain valve Hi is closed. When the arm H isinthe dottedline position d, the:sink drain valve [4 is slightly open in anormal' drain. position. When the arm H is inthe dotted line position 3, the

sink drain valve l l islin its fullyopen or flushing position.

The'iioat operated mercury'switch 83 isshown in the wiring diagram of- Fig. 10, and also the manu-al; switch 85, the push button. switches 86 and 81, and the lid operated switch 88. tionally thereis a timer NW comprising a small Addioperating. motor Ill-1* and a. series. ofv ten. switches operated from. a camshait driven by the motor 1 04-, as known the art. Energyioroperating.

The ioraminousrecep A third section is formed in the right timer MW,- the three-position motor it; and

themain motor 21, themagneticaily operating valves is obtainedfrom: a. source; of electric current" 102. In Fig; lihthe. timer motor 110i is shown at standstill. It. cannot. open-ate. because the lid- 'switch 88- open; meaning that thewsink lid is not-closed. and; because switch 111% is open. Switch-1M is opened whentheti-mercamshaft'has turn-ed through one cycle and: thus terminateseachfi cycle;

Assume thatar mealhas been: completed and there is a batch of'soiled. dishes and tableware to be cleaned. The wire rack 89 is placedinpesition the sink: l2 without. the cylindrical contamer-'9 i The soiled dishes and tableware. are hrought to the sink and placed in thewire Any l-arge solids-- such as: bones. may. be; dumped from the dishes as. they." are placed in. the; basket through the center ringssaand the loweropening 92; The soft-covering of; the. ledge-diapermits: dishes to be: jarredon thisledgezfor' dislodging such large piecesv Silverware and; the like is placed in the cylinder 98.. and the latter placed in the rack: asiillustratedin Fig: 16. The lid 39 is drawn upward and lowered: over the top .o-f th-e sin-l :v l2; 'The-push-buttnn ii?! is operated and the: next operation: by the user; is to raise the lid and remove the cleanzand dry dishesior instance, by raising the 89 and conveying. to a place: of dish storage. This: of; course; can: be done at. any: convenientsuhsequentztime.

W hen the lidisv closed, thev switch; is closed. Whenrthe. pushrbuttcm 81 is depressed, the timer motor 11H? is: energized andtstarts. the timer, whereuponswitclr: 103- closesandkeeps the timer motor energized; when the: timer starts, a. switch 105 opens prevents any: mterruptionof the automaticzoperation by means. of. the manual control 85..

When the timer starts, the holding switch. m3 closes and the disconnect; switch. I104. opens;,.as just described... and. switch i051 closes followed by aswitch. I88. 'I'henclos'mgtof switch. I05- energizes the three-positionmotor:l8 to closathesinlc drain valve it if itiis. not. already' closed. The closing of the switch lilt-energizesathe; magnetically operated. valve. 54- tozstart the bottom sprays; 42.

After a short interyail v offitimeLaswitch l1 closes to: energize the: water: valve. 5-! causing operation of; the. side sprays,--55.

After another short interval of time; the switch I06 opens and a switch I08 closes. This 'shuts off the? bottom sprays 42 and; starts. the end sprays-.58.

After another short. interval of time; the switches H17 and me open to stop: the side and end sprays. A switch Hi9 closes. and energizes the servo-motor 18 to open. the sink drain valve I4 to. its. fullest extent. Simultaneously switches H0 and I close. energizes the motor '21 which drives. the; disintegrator, water pump, and blowenand also energizes valve. to: discharge water from the ports 61' and 6-2 .Duringthe-first three periods of. operation just describedthe several sprays fiushthedishes and tablewarein 'rack'BQ. In the fourth. period, dislodged. matter is drained from: the sinle and disposed of through thedisintegrator and the pipe 28.. During this; period the bottomof. the sink is flushed by; water from the slot type ports 6,!

and. 52.

After the. fourth. time interval the switch 19 opens and the switch. I05 closes; This causes the. motor 18 to close the-.sinh-drain 14.. Water issuing. from-the. ports 61- .anchfl the I2 to the level of the opening III in the rear wall.

Thereupon the water overflows into the fitting H and pipe 12 and enters the water pump 13. The pump discharges water through pipe 14, the casing 85, and the pipes which lead back to the ports 6! and 62, thus starting circulation of the water in a circuit which includes the sink. Water continues to enter this circuit through the valve 69 until the level of water in the stand pipe 15 (see Fig. 9) rises sufficiently to buoy the float l8 and thus tilt the mercury switch 83. Tilting of the switch 83 de-energizes the valve 69 and shuts off supply of water from the hot water line. The water pump 13 has a sufiiciently high capacity to cause circulation of the water at a relatively high rate of speed so that the two swift currents are formed in the sink from the ports BI and 62 to the upper port 10. These two streams of water necessarily transverse the dish rack 89 and its contents which create considerable turbulence. This results in a thorough cleaning of the dishes and tableware. I prefer to place in the dish rack a suitable detergent held in a container which shields the detergent from the action of the sprays while permitting dissolution of the detergent into the turbulent streams during the final washing operation.

After a suitable washing period, switch Hi opens, switch Ill] opens, and switch m9 closes. This opens the circuit to valve 69 so that supply of water remains cut off even when the float switch 83 returns to its normally closed position, and causes the motor l8 to open the sink drain valve M. The pump l3 clears the pipes leading thereto and the water from the sink is rapidly disposed of through the disintegrator and the pipe 28. This draining period is made sufficiently long to effect complete draining of the sink even with some variation in rate of fiow through the waste pipe. In the claims below, the disintegrator housing 23 and the pipe 28 are together referred to generically and synonymously as a drain conduit, a drain line, a discharge conduit, or a waste pipe.

At the end of the sixth or draining period the switch I06 again closes to energize valve 54 and start the bottom sprays 42 for rinsing the sink, the dish rack and its contents. After a short operation of the bottom sprays, the switch I06 opens and the switch IBI closes. This stops the bottom sprays and starts the side sprays 55.

After a further short period, the switch 101 opens and the switch I08 closes. This stops the side sprays and starts the end sprays 58.

The sequential operation of the bottom, side,

and end sprays effects a thorough rinsing of the sink, the dish rack, and its contents. Thereupon the switch I08 opens and the switch H0 closes. a fiow of water across the bottom of the sink from the ports GI and 62, thus finishing a. thorough cleaning of the sink.

Following a short sink flushing period, the switch H0 opens and stops flow of water from the ports 61 and 62. The sink drain valve I4 is wide open and the motor 21 is operating the blower 29. Air from the blower 29 fiows upward through the sink drain opening l3 and issues through the louvre openings 40 near the ends of the sink cover 39. This fiow of air upward through the sink prevents accumulation of water vapor formed during drying of the interior of the sink, the dish rack, and its con- -'tents. Thus the dryingis greatly speeded.

This shuts off the end sprays and sends Following a suificient period for drying of the dishes and tableware, the switch Ill opens and a switch H2 closes. This stops the main motor 2! and energizes the motor 18 to move the sink drain valve M to its normal partly open position.

Thereupon the switch H2 opens, the switch Hi4 closes, and the switch I03 opens. The opening of switch 33 terminates an operating cycle by opening the circuit of the timer motor Hll to stop the timer. The closing of switch 34 returns control to the manually operating switch 85.

Whenever it should be found convenient, the lid 39 may be returned into its slot 38 and the rack 89 with its clean dry dishes and tableware removed to storage.

The switch 35 (Fig. 10) operated by the knob 84 on the back panel (Fig. 2) has five positions. It has a switch arm H3 which is shown in its normal off position. The switch arm H3 may be turned to a position H4 to energize the motor It to close the sink drain valve 44. The switch arm H3 may be turned to a position H5 to return the sink drain valve to its normal partly open position. The switch arm l3 may be turned to a position lit to operate the main motor 2? and thus the disintegrator in the waste line. The switch arm H3 may be turned to a fifth position Ill to open the sink drain valve 14 wide and operate the disintegrator in the waste line.

The bottom of the sink may be flushed at will by depressing the push button 86 (Figs. 2 and. 10). Operation of the push button 86 energizes valve 69 so that water discharges from the ports 6! and 62 as long as the push button switch 86 is depressed.

Various changes may be made within the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a sink for automatic dish cleaning having a. sink bowl and drain line therefor, a drain valve, a servo-motor for operating said valve, a disintegrator in said drain line, a motor for operating said disintegrator, manually operable control means for controlling operation of said motors, and a manually instigated automatic sequence control for said motors Which when in operation renders said manual control inoperative.

2. A sink comprising a sink bowl having a bottom drain opening, a drain conduit connected to said opening, a disintegrator in said conduit, a dish holding rack having an opening in the bottom and removably supported in said bowl with said opening adjacent said drain opening, a water pump connected in a closed circuit with said sink bowl, a plurality of sprayers in the wall of said sink bowl, a blower for delivering air to said drain conduit, a valve for stopping and unstopping said drain opening, a water inlet to said circuit, and control mechanism operative to cause operation of said elements in certain sequence to spray dishes in said rack, engulf the dishes in said rack in a swift stream of water, again spray the dishes, and then Subject them to a moving current of air.

3. A cleaning device for dishes comprising a tank, a support for articles to be cleaned in said tank, means for directing a water jet against the articles in the tank, a drain conduit adapted for communication with said tank, a macerator in said drain conduit, means for opening and closing communication between said tank and said drain conduit, means for filling said tank with' water when said communication is closed and producing a swift current in the water, a control operative to render operative first said jet directing means and said macerator and then said tank filling and current producing means, a blower for producing a breeze through said tank, and said control being further operative to open said communication to drain the tank and then again render operative said jet directing means and then said blower.

MILTON Z. THORSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 10 Name Date Cochrane June 16, 1903 Low July 2, 1907 Eccleston Mar. 23, 1909 Myrick Apr. 6, 1920 Blakeslee Feb. 17, 1925 Schmidt May 15, 1928 Lancelot Oct. 9, 1928 Pierce Aug. 8, 1933 Chamberlin 2 Apr. 2, 1940 Ashe Mar. 10, 1942 Ferris Mar. 23, 1943 Voris Dec. 11, 1945 Powers Apr. 1, 1947 

